


Civil Peace

by galaxyhitchiker



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Captain America: Civil War Trailer, Civil War (Marvel), Fix-It, Flashbacks, Italics, M/M, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Two Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 07:26:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6844831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxyhitchiker/pseuds/galaxyhitchiker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Captain America and Iron Man are fighting, hating, bruising, but it's-</p><p>  <em>(Tony throws his head back in unfiltered, raw bliss as his lover presses kisses down his neck, leaving bruises and peppering every nerve ending on his skin with fucking fire down to his chest. It’s beautiful, they’re beautiful, Steve is beautiful-)</em></p><p>-futile. They love each other like nothing the world has ever seen before, and it's much too special to let go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Never a Matter of Death

“…But he’s my friend.”

A moment of silence ensues, dimly lit room void of sound save for heavy breathing and shuffling feet. A stretched tightrope of tension entangles the three warriors together: it’s quiet, infinitely quiet.

Tony starts to get that tunnel vision, the kind he only starts seeing during a captivating new project, but work is the farthest thing from his mind right then. Anxiety pools in his stomach, followed by disbelief- _total_ disbelief at what’s about to happen. Is he even breathing?

_(Without speaking, Steve pulls him closer, meeting their lips together in an unmistakable clash of fireworks. They’re drenched in night rain, and Tony can’t help but think of how this scene is so “The Notebook." He can’t breathe, can’t think, because Steve’s mouth is so warm and inviting and oh- )_

Bucky stares him down. Clenching and unclenching his fists, Steve restrains perceptible frustration, glaring down at the ground as if it holds every fault. He has chosen Bucky over Tony, and he doesn’t want it to be this way. But what other way is there?

The words, “He’s my friend,” echoes in Tony’s mind repeatedly and consistently like a ringing in his ears. Friend?

_(They’re frantically grabbing at each other, pressing their heated bodies so close together a knife wouldn’t be able to divide them. Tony clutches Steve’s wet locks in bejeweled fingers, never quite seeming to be able to finish touching him, feeling him. Steve’'s hands tighten around his waist, fingers bruising, as they kiss over and over and over again._

_Thunder claps above them. Reluctantly, Tony pulls back, wanting badly to continue but also wanting to clarify something._

_“I love you,” he says- practically whispers- but Steve picks it up with his super-hearing anyway.)_

Friend? _Friend?_

Tony is hurt beyond description. His mind, already hanging at a precipice from a loose thread, seems to split and tumble. Was he nothing more, if Bucky was a friend?

It’s illogical, false information, misguiding, but he can’t-

“So was I.” Tony goes numb, controlling nothing, controlling everything, as he visibly activates his repulsors in a fighting stance.

The Avengers have taken down a Norse god and his army. They’ve worked together to defeat a cunning A.I opposing Tony directly. They used to be a team, fighting and weaving throughout each other, among each other; breathing the same air and protecting each other’s backs until the very end.

But this is the very end. And here they stand, divided, fighting within themselves.

Tony realizes, this is the scariest battle of all. How could battling a villain ever compare to going up against someone you love?

 _(“I love_ you _,” Steve replies, and that’s all the permission Tony needs to resume. He presses his lips to Steve's in hectic desire._

_Tony throws his head back in unfiltered, raw bliss as his lover presses kisses down his neck, leaving bruises and peppering every nerve ending on his skin with fucking fire down to his chest. It’s beautiful, they’re beautiful, Steve is beautiful-)_

-And he still is. Tony takes in the man he gave himself to in bed almost every night. Steve still looks beautiful, even with his mouth a twisted, grim line and hair mussed with dirt, face dust-smudged, and uniform battered, stained with blood.

He would’ve kissed the cuts away.

Steve's eyes still shine piercing sapphire. Tony worshipped those eyes, never had much thought for his own, but he loved Steve’s. He loved the way they brightened or darkened with desire, fragments of cerulean and sky and ocean shorelines. Now they glinted hard, like jewels Tony couldn’t afford.

When had he ever deserved Steve anyway?

They fight like stopping is a distant idea, and it is for Tony, anyway, because he can barely feel the hits he's inflicting or receiving. Everything spins, and he wants to do nothing but stop, but he can't because his own body seems to be moving at its own accord at this point. Somewhere along the line Bucky joins in and the super soldier duo slams him in four different directions continuously, even though all three are emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and over it. All of it.

But anger fires the burning in Tony's stomach anyway and he lashes out at Barnes, effectively throwing him to the ground. Bucky lays there, unconscious, and Steve hits harder.

He doesn't fight back. Doesn't reflect the spangled shield.

When at last the energy is spent (there seemed to be an infinite supply before), Steve's chest heaves with needed breaths and he looks at Tony, propped up against a wall. Iron Man closes his eyes inside the suit.

"Finish it." His voice is hoarse, barely there, but Steve hears (of course he hears). "Finish it, Cap."

Steve's breath hitches.

_(They finally fall apart, still in each other's arms but enough space to just lean back and look. Steve is consumed by everything Tony- his eyes, skin, bruised lips, lean muscle that he runs his hands over continuously. After catching his breath, the soldier grips his waist, tightly enough to bruise, and leans forward again-_

-kissing him. Tony's faceguard has been discarded, suit powered down, and Steve is kissing him.

Tony leans into it, feeling every thread of his restraint unraveling, but deciding to stay nonetheless. They make a funny sight: half-Iron Man barely keeping himself upright and a dirty Cap, cowl off, touching with all his might the skin and familiar lips he has missed for a long, long time.

Steve pulls away first, reluctantly, and looks at Tony in the eye. "We're done fighting. Okay? We can compromise, make up another solution with the team, review the Registration Act. I just- I can't fight you anymore."

Tony's silent. He's not sure if he's hallucinating.

"It's too- it just- hurts," he finishes, and Tony tilts his head in a nod, in agreement. As Bucky opens his eyes behind them, Captain America musters a smile.


	2. Civil Love

A week later, Tony is the happiest he's been in a long while. Sometimes thoughts of selfishness and betrayal and  _I don't deserve this_ come, but Steve is always there to deflect it. Captain America becomes a new constant in his life, and he loves it.

They compromise on the Sokovia Accords, never succumbing to the need to argue. It's hard to believe that things can be fixed just like that, but they're trying something they've never actually attempted before: working together. _Really_ working together.

Sometimes Steve wakes up from a nightmare, trembling, shouting about killing Tony back at that horrid place with tears on his face, but Tony is always prepared. He wraps him tight in his arms, murmuring, "I'm alive, I'm still here," until the shaking lessens and his breathing returns to normal. They support each other like that.

Devoted romantic relationships are somewhat of a new thing to Tony, having no experience besides Pepper, but he gets the hang of it quickly. After Civil War, he can't think of any reasons to hurt Steve in any way- unfathomable, he concludes. Impossible. They're naïve thoughts, but it applies for now, and he can't imagine anyone else's lips on his own at this point. Sure, new world issues and personal problems come up, and arguments sometimes plague the building, but it's nothing they can't fix.

Memorization comes easy for Tony, though. He remembers the complex map of Steve's beautiful body, every expanse of Irish freckles and clear skin. He's surrounded by Steve, an abundance of love that he's not sure he's ever felt before. At first he's overwhelmed, and he'll probably never get to used to it, but tries to return the favor nonetheless.

One morning he awakes in Steve's arms, warm and content, finally remembering the luxury of a good night's sleep. Carefully, so as not to wake him, Tony shifts around until he's face to face with him and runs his knuckles gently across one cheekbone. It's precious and he wishes he could capture this moment forever, because there are so many new things he's discovering. Sunlight filters in through the vast glass windows of the upper room of Stark Tower, casting an almost angelic glow over Steve's face.

"Perfect," Tony concludes softly, almost inaudible, pulling his hand away from Steve's face.

Captain America finally opens his eyes then, a burst of crystal blue, smiles, and kisses Tony right on the mouth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for happy endings. Thanks for reading!


End file.
